Housing Bubble, credit bubble, public planning, land use, zoning and transportation in the exurban environment. Specific criticism of smart growth, neotradtional, forms based, new urbanism and other top down planner schemes to increase urban extent and density. Ventura County, California specific examples.

Friday, March 07, 2008

Dawgz Likz to Watch

Recently purchased/viewed DVDs:Heathers - great acting, dark comedy, smart plot and dialogAmerican Werewolf In London - Hello David!Koyaanisqatsi - if you have to ask...12 Monkeys - I'm not sure if this is anti-technology or anti-environmentalism Top Cat animated series - politically incorrect cultural sliceDead Like Me complete series - what can you say about a program that spent hundreds on every episode and it showsThe Iron Giant - The Day the Earth Stood Still for kids or is it?

14 comments:

If you haven't seen it, watch "The Wire." It's significantly better than most of what comes out in theaters (not to mention TV). If you do, start with the first season or you won't understand the significance of half of what happens later. It even develops an urban planning related subplot for you (seriously).

The Wages of Fear is in regular rotation in my household. Criterion has a newer version, but this one is perfectly fine.

The asian market Jackie Chan movies are far better than the cuts we get; subtitles replace lip-synch and the musical sountracks are amazing. I order directly from HK sellers on ebay without a problem. Project A 1 & 2 are alays left out for handy viewing.

Our DVD viewer is used primarily by the toddlers, who like the same films over and over. 'Curious George', however, did open our ears to the music of Jack Johnson, and I do finally appreciate the film 'Cars'. The only adult flick that we rented recently and enjoyed was 'Burnt by the Sun'. Strongly recommended.

NR

PS Didn't like Across the Universe, though some of the song performances are good. And as for 'The Wages of Fear', I spent so much time reading the book as a schoolchild in French class that I automatically recoil from it. Sad, isn't it.

If that's the amazon price for The Wire i'll use this as an opportunity to recommend deepdiscount. They have a persistent wishlist, easy search and navigation and always free shipping. Here's my wishlist from $6-$7:

The Island of Dr. Moreau Inventory: In-Stock , Usually ships in 2-3 days $5.99 0 The Astronaut's Wife Inventory: In-Stock , Usually ships in 2-3 days $5.99 0 Modern Problems Inventory: In-Stock , Usually ships in 2-3 days $6.06 0 Alien Apocalypse Inventory: Out of Stock $6.06 0 T2 The Extreme DVD Edition Inventory: Out of Stock $6.75 0 How the West Was Won Inventory: In-Stock , Usually ships in 2-3 days $6.90 0 Blazing Saddles Inventory: In-Stock , Usually ships in 2-3 days $6.90 0 Best of 3rd Rock From the Sun Inventory: In-Stock , Usually ships in 2-3 days $6.97 0

Iron Giant is an awesome movie. Titan A.E. is the spiritual successor to the original Star Wars trilogy. It is everything that the new movies should have been.I just picked up:

The Good, The Bad and The UglyUnforgivenThin Red lineUnbreakable3:10 to Yuma

I would really recommend Titan A.E. for anyone that likes science fiction. Another great animated movie with a plot and voice acting that rises to a level beyond most films is Ghost in the Machine: Laughing Man.

One of my all time favorite cartoon video DVDs is a complete collection of Tex Avery cartoons available here. The best of these classics, "Rock-A-Bye Bear" is about two dogs who beat each other up while house sitting for a sleeping/hibernating bear. You can watch it here.